5x2
| 5x2 | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | François Ozon |
| Produced by |
Olivier Delbosc Marc Missonnier |
| Written by |
François Ozon Emmanuèle Bernheim |
| Starring |
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi Stéphane Freiss |
| Music by | Philippe Rombi |
| Cinematography | Yorick Le Saux |
| Edited by | Monica Coleman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Mars Distribution |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Budget | $5.3 million |
| Box office | $4.1 million[1] |
5x2 (also Cinq fois deux; English: Five Times Two) is a 2004 French film directed by François Ozon, which uncovers the back story to the gradual disintegration of a middle class marriage by depicting five key moments in the relationship, but in reverse order.[2]
Plot
A young married couple, Gilles and Marion, sit in an office while they listen to a lawyer read out the formal terms of their separation, after which they book a hotel room together.[3] The plot then travels backwards chronologically, with the following chapter focusing on a tense dinner party the couple hosted for Gilles’ brother and his boyfriend some time previously, at which Gilles appears to admit to infidelity, before moving back again to the point at the birth of their son, which Gilles manages to miss by several hours, leaving Marion’s parents as the only family with her in the hospital. The film then reverts to their wedding day, before ending with scenes at the Italian beach resort where, already acquaintances from work, they ran into each other by chance and first began their relationship.[4]
The individual chapters are all punctuated by romantic Italian love songs, which Ozon has said he chose for their "over-the-top sentimentality" and in order to offset the darkness of some of the scenes in the film.[5] Ozon has also said that the backward structure of the story was in part inspired by Jane Campion’s 1986 film Two Friends, and that it allowed for “a true, lucid reading of a couple’s story”.[5]
Cast
- Valeria Bruni Tedeschi as Marion
- Stéphane Freiss as Gilles
- Géraldine Pailhas as Valérie
- Françoise Fabian as Monique
- Michael Lonsdale as Bernard
References
- ↑ http://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=1126
- ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (18 March 2005). "5 x 2". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
- ↑ "5 x 2 Review". Time Out. 16 March 2005. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
- ↑ Scott, AO (10 June 2005). "Movie Review - 5x2". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 October 2009.
- 1 2 "Interviews about 5x2". Francois Ozon Official Site. Retrieved 15 October 2009.